ALABAMA WOMEN RECEIVES FOUR YEARS IN PRISON IN STOLEN IDENTITY REFUND FRAUD SCHEME

WASHINGTON Ė Larreka Jackson was sentenced yesterday to 48 months in prison for her role in a multi-million dollar conspiracy to use stolen identities to obtain tax refunds, the Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. Jackson was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $721,519.12. In January 2013, Jackson pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to file false claims and one count of aggravated identity theft.

On Aug. 15, 2012, a federal grand jury in Montgomery, Ala., returned a 25-count indictment charging Larreka Jackson with conspiring to file false tax returns using stolen identities, filing false claims, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. According to court documents, Jackson and Chiquanta Davis operated a tax preparation business called Itís Tax Time in Montgomery, Ala. Jackson and Davis used Itís Tax Time as a front to file false tax returns using stolen identities. Jackson and Davis unlawfully obtained the names and Social Security numbers of actual persons and filed false tax returns using those names. Jackson directed the fraudulent tax refund to bank accounts controlled by her and her co-conspirators.

Chiquanta Davis was previously sentenced to 66 months in prison for her role in the conspiracy.

The case was investigated by special agents of IRS - Criminal Investigation. Trial Attorneys Jason H. Poole and Michael Boteler of the Justice Departmentís Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Brown are prosecuting the case.

Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found at www.justice.gov/tax.